Caton v. Rumney
New York Supreme Court
This was an action on the case, tried at the Seneca circuit, in June, 1831, before the Hon. Daniel Moseley, one of the circuit judges.
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This was an action on the case, tried at the Seneca circuit, in June, 1831, before the Hon. Daniel Moseley, one of the circuit judges. The declaration charges that the defendants were the owners of a steam-boat plying on the Seneca Lake, and that for a proper reward they undertook to tow a boat belonging to the plaintiff from Dresden to Geneva, and that though the carelessness of the servants of the defendants in the management of the steam-boat, the boat of the plaintiff was drawn under, filled with water and sunk; by means whereof the freight in the plaintiff's boat was lost, and the boat…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Sutherland, J.
The judge misdirected the jury, and the verdict also, even under the charge, appears to me to be against the weight of evidence. The law of common carriers is not applicable to the undertaking of the defendants in this case. They were not insurers of the plaintiff’s vessel. The judge charged the jury that the defendants were bound to exert more than ordinary care and skill in the management of their steam boat. If the judge meant that they were bound to more care and skill than was ordinarily necessary in calm weather and smooth water, there can be no objection to…
2Cited by22 opinions
- Knapp, Stout & Co. Co. v. McCaffreyIllinois Supreme Court · 1899
- Pennsylvania, Delaware, & Maryland Steam Navigation Co. v. DandridgeCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1836
- Nelson v. Easton & Amboy RailroadNew York Court of Common Pleas · 1894
- Varble v. BigleyCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1879
- Wells & Tucker v. Steam Navigation Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1849
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